First Degree Burns Read online

  Raymond smiled. “Don’t worry. Webber’s face scares the fish.”

  Junior burst out laughing. “Oh, so true!” He pointed at his brother.

  “What? Yours isn’t much better. You’re the reason none of the bears ever come around,” Spider countered, speaking to his brother.

  “Don’t worry. You both came by your ugly honestly. Haven’t you seen your father?” Raymond nodded toward his brother.

  “Oh!” Both brothers cried out, while Nicole snickered.

  “He got you good, Uncle Richard.” Nicole pointed at her uncle with both index fingers.

  “He’s mad because Mom and Dad actually found him in these woods. You know a Bigfoot abandoned him right outside our camp. We’re guessing they couldn’t stand the smell of him,” Richard shot back.

  “Oh, Nikki, Dad said you’re the daughter of a baby Sasquatch!” Junior grabbed her around the shoulders and proceeded to give her noogies, which was the strangest thing Dane had ever seen.

  She knew Nicole could be playful, but this bordered on childish. It didn’t bother Dane. It was always nice to see Nicole let loose. This had to be a glimpse of Nicole as a little girl, playing around with her older cousins, getting a chance to be irresponsible and carefree. Dammit, now I want these guys to like me again, because I want them to see that Nick is in good hands. They clearly mean so much to her, and she seems to mean a lot to them.

  “I’ll show you baby Sasquatch!” Nicole hit him with an elbow in the ribs. He coughed and backed away from his younger cousin.

  “She got you!” Spider laughed, patting his brother on the back. He was more smacking Junior, but the older brother didn’t seem to mind.

  “All right you three. Stop being yourselves and let’s get going. None of these screwball antics when we get to the spot, so we can actually catch some food,” Richard ordered with a smile. The expression seemed to suggest the screwball antics weren’t likely to stop.

  The three nodded and everyone set out for the river. The walk was a few minutes long, down a worn dirt path with plenty of trees and birds to see. Over the tweets and calls of the birds, Dane could just make out the sound of the river rushing through this majestic place. It’s nothing like a park. She liked it. She wanted to see more of the forest.

  Dane was about to set herself up next to Nicole, if only to enjoy the trip more, but Junior and Spider quickly flanked her. Nicole glared at them, but they appeared a bit contrite. Dane wondered if she was about to get pranked or something.

  “We always stand together when we fish. Is it cool?” Junior inquired, as if he was asking permission.

  “Yeah, I mean, if you’re going to be around as long as Nikki says, and you’re going to do this again, you can stand with her then, but we don’t get to see her a lot, anymore,” Spider added. It would seem despite all their mean-spirited behavior, they still wanted Nicole’s company and would actually put up with Dane for it.

  Nicole’s expression softened, obviously touched by their desire to be closer. Dane couldn’t help thinking maybe they weren’t total assholes. They might not like her, but they seemed to honestly love Nicole and really wanted to spend time with her, even if it was just teasing and horsing around. She suspected Nicole felt the same way, even if the brothers treated her horribly.

  “No problem. I’ll watch you guys,” Dane answered. What the hell did she know about fishing anyway? She couldn’t even say that she saw it on television, except for in movies.

  “Cool. Gotta show Nikki how it’s done.” Spider chuckled, slapping Nicole on the back rather roughly.

  “I do believe the last time we came out here I caught more fish than you did,” Nicole argued with a smug look.

  Spider made a mocking gesture with his hand as the trio set up along the wide river. This wasn’t anything like the stream Dane had washed the dishes in. She could hardly believe what she was looking at along the thin strip of rocky shore that met the water. In some spaces, the soil and grass went right to the river. She had never seen anything like the clear, running waterway, and she was shocked into silence for a long moment. Nicole noticed and took Dane’s hand in her own.

  “How you doing, love?” Nicole inquired in a low voice.

  “This is awesome,” she replied in a whisper.

  Nicole smiled and kissed Dane’s cheek before Junior snatched Nicole over to their fishing spot. Dane was content to sit back and watch, but Beth waved her over. Hoping that Beth wouldn’t prove to be as strange as Lillian, Dane went over to see what she wanted.

  “Those three are going to zone out in a second, trying to beat each other in catching the most fish, which is stupid in and of itself, as the most any of them have ever caught is two. But, I figure I could walk you through the motions of fishing,” Beth said.

  Dane nodded. “Okay, that’s nice.”

  Beth smiled at her and eased her through the basics. It seemed simple enough. Raymond even let her practice casting with his rod, as she did not even bother to touch hers beyond carrying it down to the river. Every now and then, she glanced at Nicole to see her standing quietly with her two cousins. They seemed content, softly smiling at each other. Once, she even saw Junior patting Nicole on the shoulder, as if congratulating her.

  I don’t get it. They clearly love her and like being around her, so why do they keep giving her such a hard time about me? Don’t they get that they’re upsetting her? Maybe it’s some family thing that I don’t get. At least she’s having a good time with them, finally, just like she wanted. That thought alone put a small smile on Dane’s face.

  She noticed Lillian sat back on a folding stool, watching the action. “Lillian doesn’t fish?” she asked Beth.

  “Not since Spider put one down her shirt when she was eight,” Beth answered.

  Dane’s eyes went wide. “He put a fish down her shirt?”

  “Put a fish in Nikki’s shirt and mine, too. Still alive. Horrible experience.” Despite her words, she laughed a bit.

  Dane didn’t see what was funny about this. “What the hell is wrong with him?”

  “He was just a little boy. He acted like a little boy. He never did it again after Nicole put a fish down his pants and then managed to push him into the water. Seems Lil’s never gotten over it. I did enjoy Nicole’s vengeance and took it as my own, too,” Beth replied with another laugh.

  “Sounds like Nick played right along with them.”

  “Oh, yeah. Nikki gave and got with Spider throughout their whole lives. For Junior, it’s like having two sidekicks. They did some crazy things when they were younger. You should ask her about those.”

  Dane nodded; she’d definitely do that. She had seen pictures of Nicole as a child, but those mostly had to do with sporting events. She knew those stories, but now she wanted to know about this roughhousing version of her girlfriend. Seeing her with her cousins, though, made Dane understand even more why Nicole thought family was so important.

  At first, Dane had assumed Nicole got her ideas of family from Kathleen’s side because that was a very tight-knit group, but Raymond’s side seemed to be the same. Nicole was definitely more carefree with these cousins, not having the pressure of being the example for at least two of them. But, she seemed to get along with all of them. She was close to all of them, and they all seemed to enjoy each other. She could see why Nicole thought all families were like this, until of course the Wolfe family shattered the image and put a dent in her lovely rose-colored glasses.

  After a while, fishing got boring. “I’m going to go walk. I want to see what’s farther up the river.” Besides, she should move before her leg stiffened up.

  “It all looks sort of the same, but feel free to check it out. It’s beautiful.”

  Dane nodded. Walking around was breathtaking, feeling the mist from the flowing river. She paused to take off her shoes, wanting to feel the grass under her feet. She scanned the trees, looking for wildlife. The animals seemed to be pros at hiding, because the most she saw were birds, soaring
through the trees. She saw the occasional small rodent, but nothing bigger than a squirrel caught her eye.

  She wasn’t sure how long she walked, but she paused several times to make sure her leg wasn’t injured. There was a dull throb, but nothing she hadn’t ignored before. Nicole had packed her knee brace, which she decided to wear because it helped. She should be fine for a while longer.

  She came to some massive rocks that jutted out into the river. Unable to help herself, she gingerly made her way onto the rocks. Stepping up on one of the larger ones, she sat down and looked out into the wide river.

  ***

  “There you are. We thought you got lost, city gal,” Junior said, as he and Spider practically swaggered over to her.

  Dane arched an eyebrow. “Thought I got lost?”

  “You’ve been gone for a couple of hours. We’re about to head back for lunch,” Spider said.

  “And you’re the search party?” Dane was skeptical. Maybe they were out here to drown her in the river.

  “We volunteered,” Junior told her with a shrug. And now, she was even more skeptical.

  “It’ll give us a chance to talk to you about Nikki,” Spider said. Well, that made sense, to a degree anyway. She hoped they didn’t want to talk to her like their sister had been talking to her for the past two days.

  “I’m sure Uncle Raymond already gave you the dad talk, but we’ve got the big brother talk to handle.” Junior pointed to himself and then his brother. They stood up tall, squaring their pretty massive shoulders.

  “I was unaware that Nick had big brothers,” Dane said dryly.

  “You’re looking at ‘em.” Junior then made a show of flexing his rather impressive biceps. They were definitely big, she’d give him that, but she wasn’t exactly intimidated.

  “Okay, so this is where you guys get all threatening and everything?” Dane rolled her eyes. Whatever.

  “No, this is where we tell you flat out that you’re not good enough for Nicole. We haven’t met a single person that is good enough for her, especially someone she’s brought up here. You’ve got her enamored like every other asshole she’s been with, and she can’t see the forest for the trees. But we know what you’re all about,” Junior said with a stern gaze and an even sterner point.

  “Let’s say what you said is true, what the hell would you do if I was such an asshole?” Dane scratched her chin. After all, they lived over three hours away from Nicole in another state.

  “You think we won’t drive down there and whip your ass until you leave her alone? We will,” Spider promised her and the look in his eyes told her it wasn’t a bluff. She suspected they might’ve even done it before.

  “What makes you think I’d let you two whip my ass?” Dane was bored with this.

  “I don’t think you can handle both of us. So, here’s how it’s going to go, whatever the hell spell you’re weaving on Nicole stops now. You quit playing with her head and quit lying to her. Eventually, she’ll get it and dump you, but you’d better not break her heart.” Junior made a fist, perhaps a not so subtle hint.

  “You want me to wait for her to break up with me?” Dane asked, running her hand through her hair. She hated that she actually respected the guys for trying to stick up for Nicole. Of course, she disliked them for their prejudice and entire handling of the situation. If they only respected Nicole enough to believe her, they wouldn’t have to go through all of this nonsense.

  “Yeah, city girl. It’s not like you can offer her anything, anyway,” Spider said.

  Those words hit Dane like a bullet. Even though she knew she was getting flack for past lovers, that statement seemed too accurate for her. Am I so worthless it’s written on my face? And, if it was, of course Nicole couldn’t see it because of those lovely rose-tinted glasses.

  “Nicole’s one of the best people I’ve ever known in my life. She deserves to be happy, not played with,” Junior said, pointing at her like that made his words all the more powerful.

  “Agreed,” Dane replied.

  “Then do the right thing.” There was a hard glint in his eyes that promised consequences if she didn’t obey.

  They walked off, not bothering to look back at her. She wondered who in the world Nicole had brought for them to meet in the past because they were beyond concerned. Of course, if judging by the one ex Nicole had that Dane did know, her own cousin Tyler, she could understand why the brothers were so worried about Nicole. It didn’t matter though. She wasn’t any of those people and they’d have to deal with her, because she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d love Nicole for the rest of her life. Her eyes shifted to the river and she sighed.

  “That might be the case, but it doesn’t stop the idea that they’re actually right about me having nothing to offer her. Hell, that’s why her mom hates me,” Dane said to the air. The roar of the rushing river and the shrill cry of some birds were the only responses she got, trying to drown out the loud wail of her own misery.

  She and Nicole had spoken about this topic before, and she knew she gave quite a bit to Nicole. But, underneath it all, she guessed the insecurities would exist for a while, until she could prove to herself their relationship was somehow balanced. Emotional and affection-wise, things might’ve balanced out, but that was the only place. Everywhere else, the weighted scales practically tipped over from what Nicole brought to the table.

  While Dane had learned to accept Nicole taking care of her and being there for her, she disliked not being able to pull her own weight. Her job, if it could be called that, paid peanuts in comparison to Nicole’s. It’d take her months to save up to take Nicole to the restaurants former lovers could’ve easily taken Nicole to. She couldn’t even pay the bills in the house. Even though Haydn was technically hers, she couldn’t even afford his vet bills or sometimes even his toys.

  “I’m practically a deadbeat, so probably not that different from the people that Nick used to date. Hell, even Tyler could at least take her out. Of course, he probably made her pick up the check…which is what I do.” Dane scowled. Maybe Nicole’s cousins have a point. She didn’t even have family traditions to bring to the table like Nicole did. She had nothing to give Nicole. Nothing at all.

  Chapter Nine

  NICOLE HAD BEEN SO happy when Junior and Spider volunteered to go get Danny, so they could all head back to camp. She thought they were showing signs of trying to warm up to Danny after the musician had so graciously allowed them to steal her for their morning of fishing. She thought they were trying to be helpful, so when they returned without Danny, Nicole was left confused.

  “What happened?” Nicole asked, tilting her head as she observed her cousins.

  “She’s coming. She’s sitting on those rocks up there, probably awed by the view,” Junior answered with a shrug.

  Nicole nodded, knowing the exact spot he meant. It was a beautiful area, and she could understand how Danny could get lost in the view. In fact, she’d love to go see the spot with Danny and enjoy the company and the view. It’d be very romantic, but that could wait for another time. It was getting late, and she knew that Danny had to be hungry. She glanced up the path, knowing Danny wasn’t too far away.

  “Okay, but you guys were supposed to bring her back,” Nicole told her cousins.

  Spider scoffed, like that hadn’t been the understanding. “She’s coming.”

  “Unless she got lost walking straight up the river, which I guess you might have to worry about with that city gal.” Junior smirked.

  “It is pretty likely,” Richard said, encouraging his sons. Nicole scowled at them, ready to bite back, but she didn’t get a chance.

  Raymond spoke up. “I’ll go get her. You all head back and make sure Richard doesn’t burn the fish. We don’t have enough for his usual mistakes.” He chuckled.

  Richard snorted. “I think we can finally be assured a meal will be edible with you away from the grill.”

  “Are you sure, Daddy?” Nicole asked, surprised her father would miss
a chance to grill up the fish they’d caught. Uncle Richard, while a man of many talents, wasn’t very apt when it came to working the grill. In fact, she noticed it seemed to be a source of competition between her father and her uncle with her father winning every single time.

  “I’m sure. I haven’t seen that spot in a while, too,” he replied with a soft smile.

  Nicole shrugged because she couldn’t stop her father. Besides, she noticed her father had taken an active interest in Danny for the trip. It seemed like it was a good step for their relationship that Danny didn’t seem to recognize and that her father never mentioned. They might even leave the woods close to being friends, or better still, in-laws. The thought brought a smile to her face and, as she watched her father walk away, her eyes glistened with hope.

  ***

  Over the sound of running water, Dane could hear someone coming and she thought Junior and Spider might’ve returned for round two. She didn’t see why they’d come back, but none of the cousins really made much sense to her, except for Beth anyway. Beth seemed like a nice person, willing to give her a chance. She was surprised to see Raymond walking toward her.

  “Did Frick and Frack at least tell you that we’re eating before they shot their mouths off and threatened to kill you?” Raymond inquired with a soft smile.

  The gesture was a bit of a shock. As he came closer, she could see his expression reached his eyes and made his face seem soft. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, the inkling that he held affection for her. She decided to dismiss it, thinking she was reading too much into things. Why should he have affection for her? She was holding his daughter back, after all.

  Dane chuckled. “They didn’t really threaten to kill me.”

  “I’m surprised by that. It wouldn’t be the first time they made the threat.” Emerald eyes scanned the area, and Raymond motioned around them. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. They know the place like the back of their hands, and they could probably hide your body for years to come.”